at 27 years
I’m a CEO of a electric cooperative and, after 30 years in this work, still figuring things out. This is where I write about leadership: what it asks of you, what it teaches you, and what it looks like from the inside of a long career that isn’t finished yet.
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The day I saw the world changed
Early in my career, I was promoted from my staff engineer position to a supervisor of people. I didn’t realize how things would change, specifically my relationship with others. Having only worked at McDonald’s and at two other jobs while at University, I had little experience as a supervisor, or what I think of the…
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The first room
I still remember the day of the first time I was in the room, at the head of the table; the person who was responsible for everyone else in the room. It was my first meeting as a formal supervisor. I was responsible for the engineering teams along with the metershop. I was the youngest…
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Walking to sleep again
So to round out this exercise of past CEOs that I have worked with comes my final one. Honestly I have given a lot of thought what to share of this CEO. I have a great deal of respect for what this CEO was trying to do and what they came into. The organization had…
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A pause in the plan: Leaders are everywhere
While I still have sharings of lessons from yet another CEO I have worked for, I want to take a moment to reflect on the fact that a title does not make a leader a leader. We are all leaders. Earlier this week I was in a monthly meeting of CEOs in my region. Each…
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Slaying Dragons
One day I received an email from one of my future CEOs, it asked if I wanted to join his table when he became king; and become a knight in his service. He wanted my sword to slay the dragons. He wasn’t the king at the time, and I was only a serf on the…
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The General
With an anchor in place in our exploration of leadership styles I have experienced and learned from, I want to share a story about one of my favorite CEOs I worked with. Before I do it would be a good exercise for me to share with you my thoughts about his style. He was ex-military. …
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CEO Leadership Styles: Anchors
Over the next few weeks, I would like to share my experiences working with four different CEOs, dedicating a week to each one without following any specific order. Each of these CEOs brought a unique leadership style to the table. One adhered to a traditional top-down command structure, another sought to empower each team member,…
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I am back….
So when I left my previous employer of 27 years on the 27th of January back in 2020, I attempted to launch this endeavor. A blog to share my thoughts on leadership using my experiences in the rear view mirror while looking out the windshield. Let’s say the launch was only successful in its failure.…
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Showing up…
As I mentioned before, I have had the privilege to witness 4 different types of leaders come into the top leadership role. Three of those leaders came from outside the organization and the community in which my company was serving. The other was an internal promotion. One thing they all had in common was they…
at 27 years - Memories of Leadership, Leadership for the Future 